a3Genealogy - Accurate, Accessible Answers - specializes in military, naturalization records, Native American and African American ancestry. The a3Gen blog is penned by Kathleen Brandt, an international genealogy consultant, speaker and writer. a3Gen clients span from Europe, Asia and Africa to the Americas.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Often when we think of runaway servants,
we equate the historical events to slaves, especially in the south. We fail to
recognize the many immigrants that were contracted to serve several years prior
to gaining their complete “American” freedom.

More than half of the immigrants that
came to America in the 1700’s were assigned, contracted or bound to work for a
fixed term of years. Many did not complete their work terms and instead fled
from their contracts. Since many of these runaway servants, often convicts,
owned both time and money, ads were placed in various newspapers for their
capture. Ads were placed in theall of
the mid-Atlantic states to include Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland.

Runaways
in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Gazette, 1728-1796,
provided over 6000 runaway ads. Copies
of these advertisements are available on ancestry.com
thanks to Farley Grubb’s 1992 publication of “Runaway Servants, Convicts
and Apprentices.”

This collection may offer the family
researcher the runaway’s origin, occupation, and physical features. Often a
date of immigration is provided.

Runaways in
Virginia

Virginia
historians easily spout that over 75% (3/4) of the white colonial immigrants
arrived in bondage in the 1700’s. Familysearch.org
Wiki shares that these immigrants were French, German and Scots.

As genealogists we rely on early news
accounts of history, and The Dunlop’s Maryland Gazette, the Maryland Gazette
and the Maryland Journal and Baltimore Advertiser do not disappoint. The C. Ashley and Beverly B. Ellefson Collection (MSA
SC 5931)
at the Maryland State Archives
holds an index of Runaway Servants from 1728 -1775 by name.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Reclaiming Ancestor's Italian Heritage
For the past 4 years (2008-2012) a3Genealogy has assisted many
clients in meeting the requirements to become Italian Citizens. So, we thought
reprinting this useful guide will be helpful for you to obtain your dual
citizenship.

The process is not for the faint of heart or for the impatient type. We
are finding that collating a complete paperwork package takes between 4-6
months. If your ancestor's surname was changed, or there are apparent errors on
certified certificates expect a little longer. And remember, full proof of your
genealogical lineage must be shown through the various documents. Once the
paperwork is submitted and accepted by the consulate, then you wait.

Benefits
As an Italian citizen you can secure an Italian Passport and live and work
in any European Union (EU) country. You can take advantage of the free public
health care and you can pass the citizenship to your children and take
advantage of the Italian free education. These are just a few of the benefits
of having a dual citizenship. If approved as an Italian citizen, your spouse
and children (under eighteen) are also eligible for dual citizenship.

Documentation Needed
But to qualify for an Italian dual citizenship you need to do a lot of
legwork to meet all the regulations in proving “jure sanguinis” (your
birthright) through lineage to an Italian citizen who did not renounce their
right to Italian citizenship. You will need to gather or hire a researcher to
gather your materials. This is an overview of what is needed:

your direct line ancestor, grandfather,
grandmother, great-grandfather, etc, emigrated after 1861 and was an Italian
citizen..

your immigrant ancestor did not become an
American citizen before his descendent (your direct line) was born. So if the
lineage is from you, your father, and grandfather, your father would have been
born prior to your grandfather’s USA naturalization date for you to be
eligible.

Proof of naturalization date or proof that your
immigrant ancestor never was naturalized.

Translated Birth certificates for you and your
direct line to the immigrant ancestor and spouses as well as your children*

Eligibility Determination - From You to Italian Ancestor
Meeting the requirements of Items 1-3 (above) normally are the reasons an
Italian descendent is determined ineligible. Therefore, the best thing to do is
hire a genealogist that specializes in lineage research to verify these basic
eligibility requirements prior to translating marriage and death certificates
and searching for Italian birth certificates.

There are other ways to obtain Italian citizenship, but a3Genealogy
only works with those obtaining it through “jure sanguinis.”

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Slave ResearchElizabeth posted on LinkedIn that she was “tracing the slaves…brought to MN. She further explained: I’m trying to find where they came from prior to coming to MN and what happened to them after they left. A subsequent post gave us a bit more information: I'm investigating the slaves that were brought to the St. Cloud area in the 1850's and 1860's trying to find documentation of their lives before and after St. Cloud, MN.Having an interest in upper northern slaves and slave-owners, I thought I’d offer a few main tips.

Learn the history

Follow the slave owners

Research Military Activity

Early MinnesotaAs early as 1826 slaves were recorded in Minnesota, mostly around Ft. Snelling and frequently related to the fur-trade. Officers brought their slaves and often bound them to neighboring officers to complete special chores: fur industry and household chores. It is stated in Minnesota history, that few slaves were bought and sold.Major Lawrence Taliaferro, an Indian Agent, was both a large slave-owner and he “rented” slaves prior to emancipating his lot that valued “between twenty-five and thirty thousand dollars.” The most famous of his slaves was Harriet Robinson who married Dred Scott at Ft. Snelling. Dred Scott’s master, Dr. John Emerson, was the Ft. Snelling medical officer. Emerson later acquired Harriet Robinson also.

Analyze Census Records. Not all African Americans were slaves. 1849 Minnesota Territorial Census there were 40 free-African, mostly from seven families residing in St. Paul. In 1863 over 500 free colored arrived by steamboat from St Louis to St. Paul (May 1863).

Dred Scott Effect in St. CloudThe Missouri Compromise and Northwest Ordinance, that prohibited slavery, were ignored especially after the Dred Scott decision in 1857. The Dred Scott case protected the slave owners even in non-slave states. Due to the Dred Scott decision, researchers tracing a slave’s life must also follow the master’s path.St Cloud was an ideal vacationing spot for wealthy slave owners from the deep south or neighboring territories, like Missouri. It was common for these vacationers to carry along their slaves. In St. Cloud, there are a few famous stories but mostly told through the life of the Lowry family. Slaves are documented in St. Cloud as early as 1854.

Underground RailroadContrary to the fact that Minnesota was considered an anti-abolitionist state, abolitionists still assisted slaves in running away to Canada. Many free-coloreds, also settled in nearby Canada (Blegen, pg. 237). Notices of fugitive slaves were often placed in newspapers and in accounts of abolitionists after the war.